Monday, December 13, 2010

keeping busy

The November December time frame usually allows me a bit more free time as athletes go on a break or maintenance schedule and there are fewer races to travel to and worry about. This year we have managed to keep these months filled with various other endeavors.

Last weekend I dragged my wife to the USATF level 1 clinic in Charlotte. The certification and education will prove useful to me as I am coaching high school track and field in the spring. On top of that, it counts as 10 of the 15 continuing education units (CEUs) we need as USA Triathlon coaches. Onto my favorite subject for a second: me.

1) This was the first weekend in a couple years where I did zero training. Not even a sit up.

2) I am amazed I was able to pay attention for the entire clinic. I absorbed a lot of information and was able to make connections via existing mental schema. Good stuff.

Equally amazing to me, however, is that of the 50 or so other people in attendance, 45 of them stayed for every session, were respectful of the instructors, and paid attention as well. If this was representative of the world at large, we would have no problems. I have to surmise that our group consisted of motivated and dedicated individuals. If our class had been representative of the world at large, we would have had:

5 no show no work

15 shows no work

10 combative and disruptive

5 paid attention & learned

5 paid attention but not equipped to learn

5 paid attention for less than half the clinic (their particular sport) then leave

3 work on personal projects while in class (like the guy in your building who builds websites at work)

2 arrested for stealing copper pipe from the facility

The clinic was very well done and the presenters knew their subjects. Two of the three work locally in the Triangle area with Human Performance Consulting.

Onto the next subject - media blackout. Starting in January I am not going to watch or read the news for at least one month. This will be difficult but it is also the beginning of my busy season and I need to improve my time management skills. Watching or reading about the talking heads pontificate about things that have very little direct effect on my life and well-being is a fruitless and mostly frustrating endeavor. I'll make time for my wife, Tosh.O, 30 Rock, and the occasional Jon Stewart show. Everything else is work, reading for work, or reading for pleasure. And some training.

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MartyMartyMarty

I'm a big fan of outdoor sports and work as a triathlon and swim coach in Cary, North Carolina. I celebrate life with my wife Bri, my son JuniorAwesome, and my dog Tassie. We visit the beach or mountains when time and circumstance permit.